Saturday, February 18, 2012

Someone Else's Life by Katie Dale

Rosie has just lost her mother, Trudie, to Huntington's Disease. It's a terrible, incurable illness - that's also hereditary. As Rosie decides whether or not she wants to get tested for HD, an old family friend reveals a shocking truth: Rosie was not Trudie's biological daughter. Rosie's entire life is thrown into chaos as she starts questioning everything she knows about herself and her family. What do you do when you feel like you've been living someone else's life?

Oh my goodness, there were so many twists in this book! If I was talking about it to a friend (and being totally spoilery, which I'm not going to do here) it would sound something like "...and then this happened, but then this happened, and then this happened, BUT THEN this happened, and then out of nowhere THIS HAPPENED!" It was a complete roller coaster ride for the reader, which was perfect, because it mimicked the experience of Rosie and everyone around her. The book develops a lot of strands around identity, family, adoption, genetics, and the power of 'what if.' I read a blurb that said that this is a good read for fans of Lurlene McDaniel, Jodi Picoult, and Caroline B. Cooney, and I completely agree. It's a plot-driven story with some strong characters and a lot of emotion and I can easily see this just hitting the spot with those readers.

Post a Comment

About Me

All opinions are mine and do not reflect the opinions of anyone that I work for or anyone who has sent me a book for review.

About My Blog's Name

My blog name comes from people crowding re-shelving trucks in the library, eager to see what other people were returning. There's an excitement in finding out what other people are reading, and it's a great way to get ideas for what to read next.

Looking for More Books?

For each title, I've listed a few other books under Read It With. These are titles that are similar in some way: plots, tones, themes, settings, characters, and so on. They're not straight-up read-alikes; for example, sometimes a juvenile book might have a picture book, a YA book, or an adult book listed. There's not really a science to how I come up with them - they're just meant to spark something if you're interested in a title.